The Zohrab Information Center is pleased to announce the next Enrichment Evening of 2020. We are excited to have the opportunity to welcome one of the graduating seminarians of St. Nersess Armenian Seminary to speak about his work and research. On Thursday, February 27 at 7 PM in the Guild Hall of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America at 630 Second Ave. in New York, Dn. Timothy Aznavourian will discuss, ‘He Belongs Most of All to the Armenians’: St. John Chrysostom in the work of Ghevont Alishan. Alishan, a Mkhitarist father, was one of the great Armenian thinkers of the nineteenth century. In his talk, Dn. Timothy will explore what Alishan thought about St. John Chrysostom, and by extension, what he thought about what it means to “be Armenian.”

In the diaspora, we tend to think of those saints who are “ethnically Armenian” as more uniquely expressing the faith of the Armenian Church than those saints who are not ethnically Armenian. However, this understanding of what it means to be “Armenian” is not reflective oft he Church’s earlier understanding of Armenianness. No one understood this more than the 19th century priest-theologian Ghevont Alishan. In his work, Alishan describes the non-Armenian St. John Chrysostom as belonging “most of all to the Armenians.” This talk aims to understand why and how this is applicable to our Church’s context today.

Timothy Aznavourian is a deacon of the Armenian Church and current seminarian of St. Nersess Armenian Seminary, from which he will graduate in May 2020. Prior to becoming a seminarian, he received his undergraduate degree in philosophy from Rhode Island College. In addition, he has studied at both Yerevan State University and Gevorkian Theological Seminary in Holy Etchmiadzin.

A reception will follow the talk. All are welcome! Please direct any inquiries to zohrabcenter@armeniandiocese.org.